Only Yesterday/Transcript
Transcript of Studio Ghibli film Only Yesterday Opening :Omohide Poro Poro (1991) :(Memories with Teardrops): :"Only Yesterday" :Omohide Poro Poro: Only Yesterday :[] :(opening credits) :(part one--translation by Kawashima/Lucido) :(1982: Office Building) :EXECUTIVE: :You had said you would take a ten-day vacation--- :So I just assumed you would be travelling abroad. But you are :headed for Yamagata{*}, Okajima-san Okajima? :{* Yamagata: a rural prefecture about 180 miles north of :Tokyo} :TAEKO: {*} :Yes. :{* Taeko, the main character of this film, is played by Miki :Imai, who interestingly enough was well known in 1982, when :much of this film occurs. She debuted acting in television :dramas, but became famous for acting in makeup commercials :and such, and later would become a popular actress and :singer, whose career is still doing well today.} :EXECUTIVE: :Did you break up with someone...? :TAEKO: :I yearn for the countryside. :(1966: School grounds {*}) :{* Music note: the BGM for this scene, "Mime, Mime", is :derived from an Israeli folk dance.} :CHILDREN :`Bye! :See you later! :Let's go to Hama's house. :Nyah, nyah! :What do you mean, "Nyah" ?! :Let's go, let's go! :TSUNEKO: :So...did your grades go up? :AIKO: :Uh-uh. But it's all right. :TOKO :How come? :AIKO: :As soon as I get home, we're going to Grandma's house. So I :won't be in trouble until much later. :TAEKO: :Wow, that's nice. :Toko-chan Toko, are you going to the country, too? :TOKO :Yeah, to Nagano. Are you, Taeko-chan Taeko? :TAEKO: :I'm not sure. :TSUNEKO: :Well, guess what--my father bought a cabin! :TAEKO:/TOKO/AIKO (in unison) :Wow, that's great! :(1966: Okajima Residence) :MOTHER (OFF) :As I expected, your math grade's not good. :TAEKO: :Yeah, but I got a "B" in science {*}. Oh, Mom? Are we going :somewhere for vacation? :{* A "4" in the Japanese numerical system of 1-5. She got a :"2" in math, which equates to a "D", her worst score on the :card.} :MOTHER :Nowhere special. :TAEKO: :Hey, Mom, take me someplace. :MOTHER :I'll take you to a movie. "Tsuru No Ongaeshi" [] {*} is playing, isn't it? :{* "Tsuru no Ongaeshi" is a 1966 theatrical puppet-animation :film. It is not mentioned in the original Omoide Poro Poro :manga, so it is probably mentioned here as a tribute by :Director Isao Takahata. Going to see it by itself really is :NOT a big deal, as the film was only 17 minutes long! It :did, however, on a positive note, feature with the :legendary Osamu Tezuka's first theatrical release of Jungle :Taitei (Jungle Emperor/Kimba the White Lion) and two other :shorts. The film itself is of a classic Japanese folk tale :about a kind peasant who frees a crane from a trap, and is :repaid in a supernatural fashion for his kindness--but later :his curiosity gets the better of him, and by breaking a :promise, his reward turns forfeit.} :TAEKO: :That's not what I meant--someplace in the country. :MOTHER :The country? :TAEKO: :Right, like "Grandma's house in the country". :MOTHER :Your Grandmother lives here, doesn't she? :TAEKO: :Then Grandpa! :MOTHER :Didn't he pass away? We don't know any places in the :country. Please don't ask for something we can't possibly :do. Act2 :(1982: Eidan Marunouchisen subway {*}) :{* One of the oldest, if not the oldest, subways in Japan, :and one of the more famous, because of its distinctive red- :with white stripes paint scheme. It connects Ikebukuro to :Ogikubo, and Taeko's stop is at Ohtemachi.} :NARRATOR (1982 Taeko, Voice Over for all narration) :I was born and raised in Tokyo, and my parents were as well. :I always envied my friends who had a country hometown to :return to. :(1966: Okajima residence) :NANAKO :It's impossible to take a trip now, because everywhere will :be crowded. :TAEKO: :But I want to go somewhere. :GRANDMOTHER :How about Ohnohya? :MOTHER :Huh? :GRANDMOTHER :We've been regular visitors, so if we chose to go to Ohnohya, :we might be able to reserve a room. :TAEKO: :Where, where is it? :NANAKO :Oh, sure--Ohnohya is good, because Taeko hasn't been there :before. :MOTHER :Say, that's right... :TAEKO: :Hey, is it in the mountains? By the sea? :YAEKO :It's the Atami hot springs. :TAEKO: :Huh--"Atami"? :NANAKO :Right. You can reach it by bullet train. :YAEKO :Oh, sure, that place would be good. :TAEKO: :Atami... :NANAKO (OFF) :It's really fun--there are all kinds of baths. :YAEKO :Um, yeah, there's a giant Roman Bath. :NANAKO :That's right, and many smaller ones like the Swan Bath :and the Pansy Bath {*}. :{* "Pansy": "Sanshiyokusumire", a fancier floral name in :Japanese meaning "three-colored violet".} :YAEKO :Right, right! The Pansy Bath! :TAEKO: :Pansy Bath? :YAEKO :Yeah, it's a really fantastic bath! :NANAKO :Taeko, you just love baths, don't you? :MOTHER (OFF) :Okay, well Father is working and can't go, so why don't you :four go together? :YAEKO/NANAKO (unison) :Huh? :YAEKO :US... :NANAKO :...go TOO? :(1966: Park) :RADIO (reel-to-reel tape recorder) EXERCISES {*}: :1,2,3,4,5,6...lean to the side... :{Calisthenics required for P.E. during vacation time} :SIXTH GRADER :Taeko-chan Taeko, it's incredible--you've come to every :single radio exercise. :TAEKO: :Well, everyone else has gone to the countryside, after all. :SIXTH GRADER (OFF) :Taeko-chan Taeko, aren't you going anywhere? :TAEKO: :I'm going! :SIXTH GRADER :Where? :TAEKO: :Atami! :SIXTH GRADER :Atami? What are you going to Atami for? :TAEKO: :To go bathing! :SIXTH GRADER :Ohhh? :Well, it's good timing. I'll be going, too--my relative's :place, next Monday. So maybe no one will come to exercises :for a while. :(1982: Taeko's one-room apartment) :NANAKO (OFF/TELEphone) :Hello, Okajima residence. :TAEKO: :Ah, Nanako `ne-san Nanako? It's me, Taeko. I'm leaving :today, and was wondering if Mitsuo `ni-san Mitsuo {*} had :anything for me to tell his family at the farm. :{* This particular use of "`ni-san" uses a different :character when written, meaning "brother-in-law": in this :case Mitsuo is the husband of Nanako of 1982. This usage :will also appear later for Mitsuo's brother Kazuo, and :his wife, Kiyoko} :NANAKO (TELE) :Hmm...doesn't seem like he had anything special to say...oh :yeah, would you buy some cookies or something for Naoko-chan :Naoko? Say it's from Mitsuo Oji-chan Mitsuo and :me, and I'll pay you back later. :TAEKO: :That's fine...I'll say hello for you. How's Mother? :NANAKO (TELE) :She went out today. She was angry, though--after all, you :did turn down her Ohmiai [] :meeting, didn't you? Considering that you're 27, you're not :going to get any better choices for a husband. :TAEKO: :That's all Mother ever talks about. :NANAKO (TELE) :But you should think about it, you know. You're not so young :anymore. :TAEKO: :Is that so? :NANAKO (TELE) :Yes, it is--you can't be a cute little girl forever. :You can be so impulsive--you actually pitched in with the :farming last year, didn't you? :TAEKO: :Yeah, harvesting rice! And this year, I'm going to pick :benibana [] {*}. :{The benibana is not a native flower of Japan, but is in fact :the safflower of Egypt, and was introduced to Japan in early :600 A.D. More will be explained about this flower at length :later in the film.} :NANAKO (TELE) :Benibana Safflower? :TAEKO: :That's right! Because of your husband's family in the :country, I can have a hometown. :I might as well make the most of it! :{Taeko's cassette tapes include Billy Joel: Flowers in the :Attic, Dan Siegel, Southern All Stars (Tiny Bubbles), Yuming :II (Yumi Matsutouya, who sang the theme music for Kiki's :Delivery Service), Darryl Hall and John Oates, and Pointer :Sisters.} :NANAKO (TELE) :Oh, cut that out. :You don't get a vacation like this often, so instead of :staying at such an old place, why not go to a nice rental :cottage and have a "delicious life" {*}? :{*"delicious life" (oishii seikatsu) is a catch-line from a :commercial for the department store "Seibu". It was written :by the famous copy writer Shigesato Itoi, who wrote the copy :for ads for many commercials including for all of Miyazaki's :films as well as this film, and was the voice of the father :in My Neighbor Totoro. This commercial's copy was inspired by :a Fellini film, and the commercial starred Woody Allen. This :commercial popularized the use of "oishii" (delicious) as a :slang word used to describe things besides food.} :NANAKO (TELE, with 1966 insert) :You might be able to meet a nice guy. :TAEKO: :Stop, stop! You're trying to trick me again, like you did :with the Pansy Bath at Ohnohya! :NANAKO :Ohnohya..? Oh...ah, that time, huh? :You just talked about that a while ago, too. What a burden :your past must be if you're still holding a grudge like that! :(1966: bullet train) :NARRATOR :At that time, my sisters wouldn't have been caught dead going :to a place like Atami. :(1966: Ohnohya--Atami) :TAEKO: :Oh... :Grandma...? :GRANDMOTHER :Hmm...? :TAEKO: :Done yet? :C'mon, let's go to the bath. :GRANDMOTHER :Didn't we just go? :TAEKO: :But that was only to the Swan Bath. :NARRATOR :I was incredibly bored. :So starting with the Grimm Bath, and then to the Mermaid :Bath, the Lemon Bath, and the Pansy Bath, I went from one to :the next on my own. :TAEKO: :It's enormous! :NARRATOR :By the time I had reached the Roman Bath, I was starting to :feel dizzy... :TAEKO: :Wow...! :NARRATOR :...And I finally passed out. :(1966: Park) :NARRATOR :Thus my much-anticipated one-night trip came to an abrupt :end, and was followed by a long, long Summer vacation that :was still waiting for me. :RADIO EXERCISES: :...Jumping jacks--open, close, open, close. Next, arm and :leg exercises. 1,2,3... :(1982: Market on way to station, at Izumiya {*}) :{* Izumiya is a chain that sells western cookies and :cakes and other goodies} :NARRATOR :When I met with my sisters last time, I slipped and mentioned :the disastrous bath trip, so we laughed, "Oh yeah, and then :there was that time...", and the conversation turned to other :memories of those days. :{The music that can be heard in the background here is :"Raideen" by Yellow Magic Orchestra from their hit :"Technopolice" single (notice both are anime show titles...). :With their innovative uses of synthesizer music integrated :with computer programs, they were one of the key groups in :establishing the "Technopop" genre of music. Keyboardist :Ryuichi Sakamoto went on to fame for winning an Academy Award :for creating the soundtrack of "The Last Emperor", and more :significantly to anime fans, he created the soundtrack of :Gainax's first film and highest budget anime film ever, :"Oneamisu no Tsubasa" ("Wings of Honneamise"), released in :1987.} :(1966: Okajima Residence) :YAEKO (OFF) :You've eaten this before? :NANAKO (OFF) :Nope, my first time. :TAEKO: :Remember, I'm the one who asked for it {*}. :{* In the manga, Taeko's best friend, Toko, got one at her :birthday party from a Japanese-American friend, which sparked :Taeko's interest in the fruit.} :YAEKO :We know. :NANAKO :Where did you buy it, Dad? :FATHER :The Senbiki shop in Ginza {*}. :{* Popular for carrying more exotic foreign produce. :Imported produce like pineapples, bananas, etc. were rare at :the time and costly luxury items.} :MOTHER :It was expensive, then? :YAEKO :So, how do we eat this? :NANAKO :We slice it into rings. :YAEKO :How? :NANAKO :...I don't know. :MOTHER :Father, didn't you ask the people at the shop? :FATHER :Uh-uh. :MOTHER :Let's eat it next Sunday. :TAEKO: :Huh---we're not going to eat it today? :MOTHER :But we don't know how to eat it, do we? :YAEKO :I'm gonna eat a banana. :TAEKO: :Me too! :GRANDMOTHER :Warmer countries have rather unusual fruit, don't they? :(1966: later on) :NANAKO :I'm home! :I found out how to serve pineapple. :TAEKO:, YAEKO (unison) :What, really? :TAEKO: :I..I'll get that. :FATHER :Carefully, now. :MOTHER :Wouldn't a fish knife be better? :TAEKO: :Nice smell, nice smell! :Nice fragrance, nice fragrance! :FATHER :Oh, I see. :NANAKO :Hey--plates, plates! :YAEKO :..Oh, right! :FATHER :Itadakimasu shall try it now. :FAMILY :Itadakimasu try it. :TAEKO: :It's tough. :FATHER :Not such a big deal. :NANAKO :Not very sweet at all. :YAEKO :It's completely different from when it's canned. :GRANDMOTHER :If you live a long time, you get to have many experiences. :YAEKO :Taeko can have mine. :NANAKO :Mine too. :TAEKO: :...Delicious... :MOTHER :You don't have to force yourself to eat it. :FATHER :You'll get a stomachache. :YAEKO :Oh well, that was boring. :NANAKO :Bananas are far more tasty, aren't they? :YAEKO :True, true. :NANAKO :As I expected, the banana is the king of fruit, I guess. :YAEKO :I'm gonna have a banana. :{The TV music is "Tokyo Blues", a hit two years earlier.} :TAEKO: :As I thought, the king of fruit is... :the king of fruit is... Act :(1982: the market, and Uenoeki Station {*}) :{* Uenoeki Station is the largest station and transportation :hub of Japan, the station for a number of express trains to :all reaches of Japan, including the Akebono 3 Line, Taeko's :next train. She used the subway mentioned earlier to get :there. The Akebono 3 line is an overnight express that stops :in Yamagata, and includes sleeping compartments. Her time of :departure is 10:24 P.M., and time of arrival in Yamagata is :3:51 A.M.} :NARRATOR :...the banana! :The year I passed out at the Roman Bath and ate pineapple for :the first time, was the same year that the "group sound" :became a fad, starting with the Beatles' visit to Japan. :Soon after that, the electric guitar boom would come. :{the music playing is "Memories of Nagisa" (Omohide no :Nagisa), by The Wild Ones, one of the debuting "group sound" :groups alluded to here.} :My sister Nanako 'ne-san Nanako was a freshman at an art :college, and was always the first to try out all the new :fads. :NANAKO :Yeah, "Michelle," isn't it? Another cool Beatles song, huh? :NARRATOR :She tried the mini-skirt when it first came out, and like :everyone else, she hid her behind with a bag whenever going :upstairs. :My other sister, Yaeko 'ne-san Yaeko, the smart eleventh :grader, was completely in love with someone in the Takarazuka :theater {*}. :{* a form of theater performed entirely by a female cast, :including the male roles, which has been popular for some :time now (Osamu Tezuka, for example, cites being influenced :by his trips to the Takarazuka when he was a child), sort of :a counterpart to the all-male Kabuki performances. :Takarazuka focuses on Western dramas. The "someone" Yaeko :was in love with was the male-impersonator "Gon-chan", whom :the Okajima family dog is apparently named after.} :TAEKO: :Yaeko 'ne-chan Yaeko... :YAEKO :D....didn't I tell you to always knock first??!! :NARRATOR :The memories that my sisters mainly talked about were the :stars and fashions that they were into. 1966 was a memorable :teenage year for my sisters. But back then, I was only in :the 5th grade. :I became a fan of Julie of The Tigers {*}... :...but they didn't debut until later. There was no way for :me to have big dreams in the days when I was just simply :going back and forth between school and home. :{* The Tigers was another "group sound" group that would :debut the next year in 1967. Lead singer Kenji "Julie" :Sawada was a pop singer (idol) who was popular with high and :junior high school girls and would later continue a popular :solo career.} :TAEKO: :...and it's been on the wall for a long time. :MOTHER :That's nice. :TAEKO: :And I was told to keep the essay I wrote on the book, because :they might send it to a contest. :If that happens, I'll be very happy... :MOTHER (OFF) :You didn't eat your school lunch again. :TAEKO: :...huh? :MOTHER :Why do you put it between bread? :TAEKO: :Because I hate namasu . :MOTHER :Well, if you do this, we can't use the bread or the namasu. :How wasteful. :The kid who can eat all of her food is more respected than :the one who can write an essay. :(1966: classroom--Fifth grade, room 5) :{The classroom music being played, and used for a humorous :effect, is The Hungarian Rhapsody #5 by Brahms. This may :or may not be a subtle tribute from director Takahata to :Warner Brothers cartoons, particularly Friz Freleng, which :used the same technique of synchronizing humorous animation :with classical pieces, including this score. It also :serves, in a way, as a foreshadowing tie to the real :Hungarian music that plays a role in the later 1982 parts of :this film.} :SUU' :Wow, how can you drink that tasteless stuff? :TAEKO: :The milk's all right. It's the daikon radish and onion I :can't stand. :SUU' :Since I'm leaving carrots today, I have to drink the milk. :I wonder who decided you could only leave one thing? :TAEKO: :Want me to drink it? :SUU' :W..would you? :TAEKO: :And next time, you could eat my daikon or onion in return? :SUU' :Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. :"Thank you!" :LUNCH CREW (pony-tail girl) :Aah, carrots!? :SUU' :You can leave one thing, you know... :TAEKO: :I was right, the second bowl is worse... :(1966: class meeting) :BOBBED-HAIR GIRL :There are people who keep running if they are told to start :over again by the hall monitors. I think to keep running is :really bad. :"SPARE ME" :"Start over again?" Spare me. :RIE :You can't run in the halls. :PUT-UP HAIR GIRL, HER FRIEND :That's right, that's right. :TOKO :It's dangerous--you might hurt somebody. :SUU' :No way--if I hit a girl like you, Toko, I would be the :one hurt. :TOKO :Oh, PLEASE... :SUU' :I'm hit! :TSUNEKO:'S NEIGHBOR :Once you ran, what can you do about it? :AIKO:'S NEIGHBOR :Here, here. :PUT-UP HAIR GIRL AND FRIEND :Be quiet. :Who asked you, anyway? :TAEKO:'S NEIGHBOR :Why not abolish the system of starting over? :HIS NEIGHBOR (GIRL) :You can't, it's part of the rules. :MALE CLASS PRESIDENT :If you have an opinion, please raise your hand. :TSUNEKO: :I do. :MALE CLASS PRESIDENT :Tani-san Tani. :TSUNEKO: :I think the hall monitor should run after the runner, catch :them, and make them go back and start over. :BOYS :I do! :I do! :I do! :MALE CLASS PRESIDENT :Suzuki-san Suzuki :SUU' :And then the hall monitor has to go back and start over, too. :BOYS :Right, right! :BOBBED-HAIR GIRL'S NEIGHBORS (BOYS) :That's more like it! {*} :{* Actually, "Iijanaaaaai!" (Isn't it good?), a gag-line :used by the comedian duo "Haruno Tic-Tac"} :RIE'S NEIGHBOR (BOY) :That's right. :MALE CLASS PRESIDENT :Yes, Tani Tsuneko-san Tsuneko Tani. :TSUNEKO: :I don't think that the hall monitors need to start over :because...their job is just like a police patrol car catching :a speeder. :MALE CLASS PRESIDENT :Any opposing arguments? :TONOMURA :Like a patrol car...? :TAEKO:'S NEIGHBOR'S NEIGHBOR (GIRL) :...Then running is no good. :MALE CLASS PRESIDENT :The decision rests on allowing the hall monitor to run. :Anything else to discuss? :TSUNEKO: :Yes. :MALE CLASS PRESIDENT :Tani-san Tani. :RIE'S NEIGHBOR (BOY) :Her again?! :SUU' :The show-off! :TAEKO: :Quit chattering. :TSUNEKO: :Lately I've been seeing people leaving food at lunch. I :just read a magazine article about the war in Vietnam. In :foreign countries like those there are many poor people. We :are happily more fortunate. :TSUNEKO:'S NEIGHBOR :Yeah, "we're happy." {*} :{* Reference to the hit song "Kimi to Itsumademo" ("Be :Forever with You"), by the still popular Yuzo Kayama. It :comes from a part of the song that is spoken, not sung.} :TSUNEKO: :(A-hem!) :We must be thankful for the food we have. Right now we may :leave one thing per meal, but I feel that is too lenient. :RIE'S NEIGHBOR (BOY) :Geez, Tsuneko...aren't you the goody two-shoes? :TSUNEKO:'S NEIGHBOR (BOY) :Bleah! :AIKO:'S NEIGHBOR (BOY) :Why can't we leave even one thing? :SUU' :And then everyone could leave the milk. :TAEKO: :Why not ask somebody to eat what you don't like? :TAEKO:'S NEIGHBOR'S NEIGHBOR. :That's obvious. :BRAIDED HAIR GIRL'S NEIGHBOR (BOY) :Some people leave extra by hiding it between their bread. :BRAIDED HAIR GIRL :Ohh, cheaters! :BOY (OFF) :School lunch stinks. :MALE CLASS PRESIDENT :Raise your hand! :FEMALE CLASS PRESIDENT (KOBAYASHI {*}) :Raise your hand! :{* See the last portion of the movie, dealing with "Abe"} :CLASS PRESIDENTS :If you have an opinion, raise your hand, please! :"SPARE ME" :"Oh...you got me!"{*} :{* gag-line from the comedian trio "Tempuku Trio" :("Sinking Trio")} :{The music which can be heard in the background here is :"Damatte Ore ni Tsuite Koi" ("Shaddup and Stick with Me") by :the group Hana Hajime & the Krazy Kats. This was the main :title song of the movie "Horafuki Taikoki," and the famous :starring actor, Hitoshi Ueki, was a member of this group.} Act :(1982: Train station) :NARRATOR :After I said goodbye to my sisters and went to bed, one by :one, my memories of fifth grade came back. :Memories about our dog, Gon...about sports day...about the :scary feeling we got from reading Kazuo Umezu's comics...and :even about yearning for an electric pencil sharpener {*}. :{* All of these memories are stories from the original manga :not adapted in this film. Kazuo Umezu was a popular creator :of horror comics. The story in particular that scared her :was "Mama ga Kowai" ("Mama is Scary") ran in Shojo Friend :magazine in 1965 (actually when she was in the fourth :grade, though she wrote an essay about it as a fifth grader), :and was about a girl whose mother is really a snake-woman: :Taeko wound up extremely suspicious of her OWN mother for a :while after that...} :(1982: Train hallway) :Even such trivial things came back vividly, occupying my mind :as if I were watching a movie, and overwhelmed the real me. :(1966: Fifth grade, room 5) :GIRL "A" FROM ROOM 4 :Is there an "Okajima-san" "Miss Okajima" here? :There's the one. :{The strange way the girls are walking is in imitation of a :commercial for "Renown" women's apparel, one of the few :color commercials of its time. The American women in the :commercial walked in this unique manner (long, confident :strides, in step), which was very surprising to the Japanese :viewers.} :Hirota-kun Hirota says that "I like Okajima-san Okajima :of room 5." :...Shall we go? :I'm gonna tell Hiro that you know, now! :GIRL "B" (ROOM 4) :Hurry up! :TOKO :So it IS true? :(1966: Sukebeyokocho: "Naughty Alley") :TSUNEKO: :Where, where? :TOKO :Over there. :GRAFFITI :"Taeko Okajima, 5th grade, Room 5 + Shuji Hirota, 5th grade, :Room 4" :{To the right of this is a drawing of Tetsujin 28go, the :first anime giant robot, and quite popular at that time (and :known in the U.S. as "Gigantor").} :TSUNEKO:. :Oh, she's right! :AIKO: :Whoa... :TOKO :See? :TSUNEKO: :What kind of guy is Hirota-kun Hirota? :AIKO: :I don't know. :TOKO :Me neither. :TSUNEKO: :Taeko-chan Taeko, are you sure you don't know him? :TAEKO: :I..I..I don't know him. Not at all. :(1966: Fifth grade, classroom 4) :TSUNEKO: :Which one here is named Hirota-kun Hirota? :BOY :Oh, its some room 5 kids. :GIRL A :Hiro, you're being called. :HIROTA :Yes, that's me! :TSUNEKO: :D...don't write strange things at "Naughty Alley"... :HIROTA :Huh? :TSUNEKO: :...Okajima-san Okajima" said to tell you. :HIROTA :I...I didn't write anything. :GIRL A :Ah, but Hiro, didn't you say you liked "Okajima-san :Okajima from room 5?" :GIRL B :He did, he did! :GIRL C :So we wrote it for you. :HIROTA :Whaa...?! :GIRLS ABC (singing, in unison) :"I love you, but..." :GIRL C :Cha cha cha cha! :GIRLS ABC (cont'd) :"...we're apart," :GIRL C :Cha cha cha cha! :GIRLS ABC (cont'd) :"just like the stars..." :GIRL C :Cha cha cha cha! :GIRLS ABC (cont'd) :"...that we see far away. {*}" :{* "Hoshi no Flamenco" ("Flamenco of Stars"), another hit at :the time by Teruhiko Saigo, this will appear again in the :film in instrumental form.} :TSUNEKO: :Goodbye. :(1966: school hallway) :TSUNEKO: :Taeko-chan Taeko! :We just got back from meeting Hirota-kun Hirota. :TAEKO: :Whaa...? :TSUNEKO: :I certainly didn't forget to tell him you didn't want him :writing strange things! :AIKO: :Tsuneko-chan Tsuneko! :TSUNEKO: :Oops, not supposed to do that. :BRAIDED HAIR GIRL :Good for you, Taeko-chan Taeko-chan. :(1966: Room 5) :BRAIDED HAIR GIRL :Here, here. Look there--that's Hirota-kun Hirota. :SUU' :What, Hirota from room 4 likes Okajima? :Hirota's incredible--he's an ace. :TOKO :Oh, a pitcher? :SUU' :The only one who can hit that guy's pitches is Tonomura. :TSUNEKO: :Whoa, you don't say? :SUU' :We'll be playing against the team from his class in the fifth :grade school tournament. :{The music here is the instrumental version of "Hoshi no :Flamenco," quoted by the girls earlier.} :(1966: Fifth grade tournament) :CLASS 4 :Go for it, go for it, Hirota! :Go for it, go for it, Hirota! :UMPIRE :"Play ball!" :CLASS 5 :Hit it, hit it, Tonomura! :Hit it, hit it, Tonomura! :GIRL A :Go for it, Hiro...! :...Okajima-san's Okajima's" watching you! :TSUNEKO: :Tonomura-kun (Tonomura), good luck! :UMPIRE :"STRIKE!" :CLASS 4 STUDENT (OFF) :Attaboy, Hiro! :CLASS 4 STUDENT 2 (OFF) :Strike 'em out, Strike him! :TSUNEKO: :Taeko-chan Taeko, I'll never forgive you if you encourage :their side. :TAEKO: :I...I wouldn't even think of such a thing! :TSUNEKO:, leading CLASS 5 :Hit it, hit it, Tonomura! :Hit it, hit it, Tonomura! :Hit it, hit... :UMPIRE :"OUT!" :CLASS 4 :All right, all right, Hirota! :All right, all right, Hirota! :CLASS 5 BOY (OFF) :Get him, Suu'! :CLASS 5 BOY :One leg hitter {*}! :{* The famous one-leg hitting (also known as "Flamingo :hitting") popularized by Japanese baseball legend Ou :Sadahara, a Chinese player for the Yomiuri Giants, also known :as "One-chan" because his Chinese name is the same as the :character for the number "one", and his uniform number, is of :course, the same.} :UMPIRE :"Strike!" :"Strike!" :"Strike! Batter out!" :TAEKO: :Amazing... :CLASS 4 :All right, all right, Hirota! :All right, all right, Hirota! :All right, all right, Hirota! :NARRATOR :Even though I knew nothing about baseball, at least I could :tell he was incredible. :CLASS 4 :All right, all right, Hirota! :All right, all right, Hirota! :AIKO: :What's the matter, Taeko-chan Taeko? :NARRATOR :Because of the cold and my nervousness, I had to run to the :bathroom five times. :CATCHER :Over here! :UMPIRE :"Safe!" :"Game Set." :5 to 3. Class 4 wins. :TEAM MEMBERS :Thank you for the game. :GIRL B :Terrific, Hiro! :GIRL C :Way to go! :GIRL A :You were great! :TSUNEKO: :It's Suu's fault. :SUU' :Why? :TEAM MEMBER :You don't know anything. :SUU' (OFF) :Even Tonomura couldn't hit the ball, so how could we win? :TEAM MEMBER (OFF) :Right. :TSUNEKO: (OFF) :It's because Suu' had an error. That's how we gave them :three extra points. :SUU' :That's not true. :BOY 1, CLASS 4 :Hey, the coach is going to buy us all ice cream! :BOY 2, CLASS 4 :Really? :BOY 3, CLASS 4 :Great! :GIRL A :Hey, Hiro, why don't you go talk to Okajima-san Okajima :from room 5? :GIRL B :Yeah, yeah! :TAEKO: :I...I'm...ggg, going home! :AIKO: :What's the matter, Taeko-chan Taeko? :GIRL A :Hey, she's going home... :(1966: crossroads) :HIROTA :Uh..umm! :Nah! ...Naughty! n..n..nah-Naughty Al..luh... :...luh...al..al... :Ruh...Rainy days! :TAEKO: :Huh? :HIROTA :...Cloudy days, or sunny days...which do you like? :TAEKO: :...kuh..Cloudy days... :HIROTA :Oh, we're alike! :{The music here is an instrumental adapted from the :theme of the theatrical version of "Ohanahan", the mega-hit :NHK drama series (with a maximum viewership of 54%, and an :overall average of 46%) from that time. The fact that the end :of the music and the end of the sequence sync perfectly was :not intentional, but nonetheless a lucky accident.} :{The starry eyes Taeko has in this one scene are :appropriately in the style of popular girls' manga of this :time frame.} :(1982: Taeko's Apartment) :TAEKO: :Rainy days...cloudy days, or sunny days...which do you like? :Oh...we're alike. :{The magazine next to Taeko on her bed is "an an", a fashion :magazine for women published by Heibon Shuppan since 1970, :though since then the company's name has changed to Magazine :House. This magazine is a rival of the even more popular :Non-No, published by Shueisha since 1971. Both magazines are :still popular today.} :(1982: On the train) :NARRATOR :I didn't intend to bring my fifth grade self with me...but :once she was revived, she wasn't going to leave easily. :But why the fifth grade...? :(1966: Auditorium) :TEACHER (OFF) :The boys in the fourth period class will play baseball, and :the girls will meet in the gymnasium. :SCHOOL NURSE (OFF, but camera FADES/TILTS ON) :Today there is something important to talk about. After you :graduate from elementary school, you will go to junior high :school, then high school, then grow up and have a baby. In :order to have a baby, a woman's body starts preparing for it. :(1966: Room 5) :TAEKO: :You knew? :TOKO :Uh-huh. :TAEKO: :Really? :TOKO :My mom told me when I was in fourth grade since I have been :developing faster. :TAEKO: :"Developing?" :TOKO :Right...I've heard that if you're taller or more overweight :than average, your period might come sooner. So, in other :words, Enomoto-san Enomoto, Onobu, and Rie-chan Rie all :probably already started theirs. :TAEKO: :Oh...? :TSUNEKO: :Hey, hey... :Will you buy THAT? :TOKO :I'll buy it. :TSUNEKO: :I thought so. :TOKO :Taeko-chan Taeko, will you buy it too? :TAEKO: :Uh....uh-huh.... :TOKO :Buying it's a good idea. Hey, remember like the school :nurse said, you're going to need it eventually, after all. :TSUNEKO: :That's true, you know. :(1966: Lunch, Room 5) :TSUNEKO:'S NEIGHBOR (BOY) :Hey, did you know the girls are buying underpants {*} from :the infirmary? :{* the "underpants" in question, as the viewer might guess, :are specially lined with a napkin and are reusable. :According to the manga, Taeko almost was lent a pair by :Yaeko, until she asked too many embarrassing questions about :it, and wound up having to get her own after all.} :BOYS :Huh? :AIKO:'S NEIGHBOR (BOY) :Didn't you know, Suu? :SUU :Nope. :BOY ACROSS FROM AIKO :How come? :How come you're buying underpants? :GIRL BEHIND AIKO :W...well it's...um, :AIKO: :That is... :AIKO:'S NEIGHBOR (BOY) :Why do they sell underpants at school? :SUU :Are they swimming shorts? :{The music here is an instrumental of "Konichiwa Aka-chan" :("Hello Baby"), yet another hit song from an NHK television :show, "Yume de Aimashou" ("See you in a Dream"). Also, for :reference toward the next scene, the boy walking past with :his tray and a knowing grin is the infamous Nakayama.} :(1966: Girl's Restroom) :TSUNEKO: (OFF) :Say what---!? :TSUNEKO: :You went and told Nakayama-kun Nakayama? :GIRL WITH PUT-UP HAIR :What did you have to go do that for? :GIRL WITH PLAIN HAIR RIBBON :You're not supposed to tell any boys! :TSUNEKO: :That's for sure, girls are supposed to keep it to themselves. :PUT-UP HAIR :Rie-chan Rie, you like Nakayama-kun Nakayama, so that :must be why, well... :TSUNEKO: :He must've asked you to tell him. :RIE :Um...uh-huh. :TAEKO: :What's the matter? :TSUNEKO: :Well, Rie-chan Rie here went and told Nakayama-kun :Nakayama all about periods. :TAEKO: :No way...! :TSUNEKO: :That Nakayama-kun Nakayama, he'll tell everyone about it. :RIE :I told him to keep it a secret. :PUT-UP HAIR :You can't trust him on that. :TSUNEKO:, HAIR RIBBON :Right? Right. :HAIR RIBBON :Omigosh. :PUT-UP HAIR :The boys are so dirty-minded. :TSUNEKO: :They sure won't only look up skirts, now. :(1966: Hallway) :GIRLS :Hey! :SLIDING BOY :Safe! :GIRLS :Eek..! :TOKO, TAEKO, GIRL WITH PIGTAILS :Pervert! :TSUNEKO: :Jerk! :NARRATOR :This skirt-peeping {*} had caught on earlier, and not :surprisingly, the knowledge of menstruation only complicated :the problem. :{* Lifting skirts and looking up them when going past girls :was a new fad among young boys in the mid-sixties--in :response, many girls wore their gym shorts under their skirts :(including in the manga).} :SUU :Safe! Ah, but your period isn't! :SWEEPING GIRL :Eek! Why you...! Wait up! :SUU :Sorry! Sorry! :SWEEPING BOY :PERIODical cleaning. :PIGTAILED GIRL :Jerk! :SWEEPING BOY :Hey, that hurt. :SWEEPING GIRL :Wait...! :SUU :Sorry! Sorry! :STRIPED SHIRT BOY :You've got a period. :SHORT-HAIRED GIRL :Do not! :PUT-UP HAIR :This is all Rie-chan's Rie's fault. :SUU :Ouch! :{Need it be said that this music is "Turkey in the Straw"..?} :(1966: Hallway) :RIE :I'm sorry. :TAEKO: :What for? :RIE :That I slipped and told Nakayama-kun Nakayama. :TAEKO: :Well, no big deal. :RIE :But the school nurse said it was important, didn't she? :TAEKO: :That's true, but... :RIE :I...I was a fourth grader, when mine came. :TAEKO: :Huh....really? :RIE :So that's why sometimes I skip P.E. class. :TAEKO: :You skip P.E. when you have your period? :RIE :Right, my mother told me I should. :Nakayama-kun (Nakayama) said that it must be a big bother for :girls after I told him. :TAEKO: :You told him about skipping P.E. class?! :RIE :Uh-huh, though I told him to keep his promise and not tell :any other boys. :TAEKO: :If you told him that... :When any girl skips P.E. class, everyone will think she's :having her period, won't they?! :RIE :Huh, you think so? :TAEKO: :Darn right! :BOY IN HALL TALKING TO ANOTHER :...really? I'll have to tell the guys. Hey...! :(1966: Okajima residence) :EXCUSE NOTE :Please excuse Taeko from P.E. class because of the flu. :TAEKO: :(cough) I'm not going to skip P.E. :MOTHER :Forget it--that summer flu will only get much worse if you :don't skip it. :TAEKO: :Well, then I'm staying home. :MOTHER :You don't have a fever, so you're going. :TAEKO: :Then I'll go to P.E., too. :MOTHER :Fine, go ahead. :But then if you get worse, it's on your head. :TAEKO: :(cough) I'm going now. :MOTHER :I wonder when she started liking P.E. so much... :(1966: Room 5) :PONYTAILED GIRL :Taeko-chan (Taeko), your face is real red. :AIKO: :Oh, it really is. :TSUNEKO: :What's the matter? :TAEKO: :Its a cold. :AIKO: :Do you have a fever? :TSUNEKO: :You ought to skip P.E. :PONYTAIL :She's right. :TSUNEKO: :I'll go tell the teacher. :TAEKO: :That's okay! :TSUNEKO: :But... :TAEKO: :I have a note to excuse me from P.E. :TSUNEKO: :What, well, that's okay then. :Right? :(1966: stairway) :RUNNING KID :Gangway! :(1966: Room 5) :RIE :I'm also skipping it today, so we're together. :(1966: School grounds) :RIE :That looks nice... :I wish I could be playing dodge-ball. :TAEKO: :Rie-chan Rie, do you...that is, are you...having your :period? :RIE :Mmm-hmmm. :TAEKO: :I'm not, I've got a cold. :RIE :I know that, Taeko-chan Taeko, you're just sick. :TAEKO: :Right, just sick, that's what I am. :RIE :A period isn't being sick, of course. :I'm sure I could play dodge-ball. :DODGE-BALL BOY :Oh, period contagion! :RIE :Huh? :DODGE-BALL BOY :Back off, back off! :That was close--any further and we could have been :contaminated! :TAEKO: :("Contaminated?!") :OTHER KID :Hey, over here! :RIE :Periods are contagious? :How stupid! :TAEKO: :It...It's not funny! :RIE :Taeko-chan Taeko...? :(1966: Hallway) :{The bin they are carrying is labeled "Dust Bin".} :BOY :Hey, a pair with periods! :TAEKO: :It's not true! :RIE :What a pervert, huh? :(1966: Incinerator) :TAEKO: :Rie-chan Rie, how can you stand this? :RIE :But it isn't really a bad thing, or so my mom tells me. :TAEKO: :Well, I suppose so, but... :(1982: Overnight express) :NARRATOR :A larva has to become a pupa in order to become a butterfly. :I didn't want to become a pupa.... :I wonder, maybe the reason I am remembering those days is :because my period of becoming a pupa has come once again. :I know something is different now compared to several years :ago when I got my job. I am changing again. :In work and play, we were always more lively than the boys. :We thought we had already flown away from home...but now I :look back and think maybe we were just too busy flapping our :wings and forgot who we were. :I wonder if the reason my fifth grade self is following me is :that she is trying to tell me to look back and figure out who :I am. :Whatever the case, I decided to take a short nap until I :arrived in Yamagata. :(1982: Yamagata train station) :TOSHIO: {*} :'Scuse me--has the "Akebono #3" train already left? :{* Toshio's voice actor is Toshiro Yanagiba, who debuted with :the song-and-dance group "Iseihubi Sepia" ("iseihubi" is an :idiom meaning "great change brought through innovation"), :popular during the time this part of the film is set, and has :since acted in many dramas, comedies, and films.} :STATION EMPLOYEE :You missed boarding it? :TOSHIO: :Er...no... :Oh! :You're...Taeko Okajima-san Taeko Okajima, right? :TAEKO: :Well...yes... :TOSHIO: :Whew, that's good! :The car's this way. :TAEKO: :Um, er, excuse me, but just who ARE you? :TOSHIO: :Oh, don'tcha remember? :Well, can't say I blame you, there's small chance you would. :I'm Toshio. Um...Kazuo's second cousin. :TAEKO: :Oh...ah, really...? :Oh dear. :TOSHIO: :What's so funny? :TAEKO: :Oh, um, nothing. I'm sorry, it's just I thought you were :trying to steal my bag. :TOSHIO: :Huh, that's cruel--remember, I certainly made it clear I knew :your name, didn't I? :TAEKO: :I spoke too soon. Thanks for coming out of your way to pick :me up. I'm sorry about this. :TOSHIO: :No trouble. :TAEKO: :What happened to Kazuo 'ni-san brother-in-law Kazuo? :TOSHIO: :He suddenly called last night and asked me to pick you up :instead. :TAEKO: :It's been raining? :TOSHIO: :Yep, but it's stopped for today. :I should've borrowed my pa's car {*}...but, well, I happen to :like this one. :It's a little cramped, but hop in. :Oh, mind if I keep it on? :{The big sign on the left states "Benibana no Yamagataji" :("The Yamagata Road of Benibana"). This part of Yamagata's :self-promotion. While benibana was popular in the Edo :period, it was overshadowed by imported foreign chemical dyes :in the Meiji period. The recent trend towards all-natural :products, however, has brought about a revival of the use of :benibana, and Yamagata has cashed in on this with several new :benibana products including benibana noodles, benibana tea, :benibana candy, and even benibana paper.} :{* The teensy Subaru R-2 subcompact, an economical "road and : leisure" car first manufactured by Fujijuko in 1970 in the : shadow of the more famous R-360. It sports a 2 cylinder : engine, and reportedly is able to do 115 kph at top speed. : In researching the car, the movie staff took a full binder : of reference photos and 8 mm videos.} :TAEKO: :Um, sure. :What unusual music... :TOSHIO: :Its a group of five Hungarians called "Muzsikas" {*}. :{* "Muzsikas" is a folk music group from Budapest featuring :Ma'rta Sebestye'n. Three of their songs are used in this :film: "Teremte's" ("Creation"), "Hajnali No'ta" ("Dawn's :Song"), and "Fuvom Aze'nekem" ("My Song"). (These :translations were in Japanese, and so may not be precise in :English)} :TAEKO: :Oh, Hungarian? :TOSHIO: :Yep. :TAEKO: :Do you know much about it? :TOSHIO: :A little. It's music for peasants. I like it 'cause I'm :one, too. :TAEKO: :Wow, that's cool. :TOSHIO: :Isn't it? :You recall the time, when we all had a sake party at the :main farmhouse {} after the rice harvest, that one time...? :TAEKO: :Umm, oh... :TOSHIO: :Yep. And that time, a buncha guys crashed the party? Don't :you recall that...? :Well, to be quite frank, since they got wind of a young Tokyo :gal being there, they decided to go check her out. I was one :of those fellas. :TAEKO: :Ah, ah... :TOSHIO: :That fool! :You came out here to pick benibana safflower? Are you into :dyes or something? :TAEKO: :No, just curious. You see, benibana safflowers are :unusual...but maybe not so much for people here. :TOSHIO: :Nah. What's famous is just the name of the cosmetics made :from it, but it ain't so common anymore. Like my farm :doesn't make it these days, for one example. :TAEKO: :But I heard it prospered during the Edo era. :TOSHIO: :True, 'cause there was a politician who gained influence :through its sales. It would've been a big deal for the :wealthier people, but it was only a product as far as we :peasants were concerned. :Ummm... :"In the end, :Someone else's skin would be touched by :The vermillion flower." :Do you know this one? :TAEKO: :Right, its a haiku by Basho {}, right? I had :looked it up before I came here. :TOSHIO: :Do tell? Well, honestly, I looked it up myself yesterday. :TAEKO: :Really... :TOSHIO: :That same book also said that the women who gathered the :flowers never were able to wear the lipstick made from :them. :TAEKO: :Is there going to be a festival here? :TOSHIO: :Yep, the riverbank'll be full of people. :TAEKO: :Agriculture's still in trouble, isn't it, with fields being :reduced to make way for markets, and such. :TOSHIO: :Sure, already there's a lot of trouble, and if it goes on, :Japanese agriculture'll be ruined. Just some day, suddenly :"poof," and its gone. :But y'know, even with all this trouble or not, if you're :trying your best, it still doesn't come easy. The work in :the big city must be the same, right? :TAEKO: :Sure...but the people who think work is everything are :becoming fewer in number. :TOSHIO: :How 'bout you, Taeko-san Taeko? :TAEKO: :Huh? Me? :I don't think I'm obsessed...with work, but I don't hate it, :either. :TOSHIO: :As for me, well, I think I can do my best in agriculture, :'cause its so interesting to raise living things. :TAEKO: :You...raise livestock? :TOSHIO: :Huh? :No, that's not what I meant. I do have cows and chickens, :but I don't mean livestock. Hey, look there...rice, as well :as apples and cherries, they're all living things. :TAEKO: (OFF) :Ohh. :TOSHIO: :Yep. If I take care of them the best I can, I feel like they :respond to me by trying to grow up their best. :I guess I'm sounding a bit like some hotshot farmer, huh? :TAEKO: :Not at all...I feel I understand. :TOSHIO: :To be frank, I was working at a company until recently. I'm :really just a beginning farmer, so... :TAEKO: :Oh...is that so? :TOSHIO: :So y'know, with my parents still in good health, maybe that's :why my attitude is positive. But that's how I have to be, :you see? I quit the company because someone doing "organic :farming" called me and asked me to try it, too. Everyone :said I was a fool, but so far, I have no regrets. :TAEKO: :"Organic farming?" :TOSHIO: :"Farming that requires guts...farming that gives you guts." :That's a little joke. An "organic farm" uses as much :compost as possible and as few agricultural chemicals and :chemical fertilizers as possible. :TAEKO: :Ohh, I've heard about this, it's non-chemical or uses few :chemicals. :TOSHIO: :But that's not right, it sounds so negative. It's really an :ideal agriculture that takes advantage of the life force of :living things. And people are only beneficial to it. That's :what makes the whole idea so cool. :TAEKO: :Huh. :TOSHIO: :But this "helping" part is extremely hard. :{The music here is the famous pan pipe music of Gheorghe :Zamfir, of Rumania. His music became internationally renowned :in the early eighties, and two of his songs serve throughout :the film as the theme for both Toshio and the countryside-- :"Frunzulita` Lemn Adus" ("Fluttering Green Leaves"), and :"Ci^ntec de Nunta`" ("Song of Marriage"). :Well, I've been told to take you directly to the fields... :TAEKO: :Right, I'm ready to help out. :TOSHIO: :Oh? You're not going to sleep? :TAEKO: :You see, I heard that benibana safflowers should be picked :in the early morning, when the dew makes the thorns soft. :TOSHIO: :Well, that's true, but... :TAEKO: :I'm a night owl, so I thought the best way to switch my life :to being a morning person is to come by a night train. :TOSHIO: :Huh, you really get into it, huh? :TAEKO: :There it is! :Good morning! :KIYOKO :Taeko-san Taeko, welcome back! :TAEKO: :Once again, I'm in your debt. :Obaa-chan Auntie, its good to see you doing well. :BANCHA :Welcome, welcome. :KAZUO :Aren't you tired? :TAEKO: :No, not at all. :KIYOKO :I made your bed for you just in case... :TAEKO: :I'm fine, look--I'm full of energy! :KIYOKO :Wow, you really are ready--you're wearing a farming uniform. :TAEKO: :Though this is all I'm prepared for. :BANCHA :Young farmers' wives seldom wear them these days. But Taeko- :san Taeko, you're more into it. :KIYOKO :Ain't that a fact. :TOSHIO: :Taeko-san Taeko! :TAEKO: :Quit that! :NARRATOR :And thus began my second experience with country life. :{The music here is of the Bulgarian Voice (choir), and is :called "Malka Moma Dvori Mete", "Dilmano Dilbero". It is :also unique in that the music either follows 7-beat or 9- :beat time.} :How can such a vivid crimson color be born from this flower? :Kiyoko 'ne-san sister-in-law, Kiyoko once told me a sad :story that goes with it. Long ago, there were no such things :as rubber gloves. When the young girls picked the flowers :with their bare hands, they were pricked by the thorns and :bled. The blood turned the color deeper crimson. :I felt as if I heard the hostile feeling the girls, who never :got to put the red color on their lips, must have had against :the women in Kyoto that wore it. :In order to get a handful of rouge, 60 heads of flowers are :necessary. That shining, iridescent color had the same value :as gold back then, I've heard. :After washing them with water and stamping on them, kneading :them by hand, and letting them sit in the air and water, they :become oxidized, and begin to get closer to red in color. :{The machine the benibana is put through here is a :"Misokiriki", usually used for Miso.} :In addition to that, if you let it sit two or three more :days, the flower will ferment, becoming sticky, and turn into :a deep red. :Next, you stamp it with a mortar, squeeze it, and shape it :into balls. :And if you dry it in an oven, you finally are done with the :flower patty, from which the main ingredient of rouge is :made. :A long time ago they didn't waste the remaining water which :we got from compressing it earlier. Now this by-product :usually goes unsaved. The crimson color, which is still in :the leftover water, could be used for making a dye, which :cloth can be stained in. This is the "benibana-dye" :safflower-dye. :TAEKO:/NAOKO (unison) :Be dyed! Be dyed! :It's benibana-dye safflower-dye! :Nice colors dye well-- :Nice colors make my heart brave. :NARRATOR :It's said that the village women, who were denied the rouge :or bright kimonos, used to add color to their simple lives by :using the benibana-dye safflower-dye. :The remaining yellow color dissolves in water, and the cotton :or hemp is dyed with a beautiful light rouge color. :TAEKO: :Oh, pretty! :NARRATOR :Although a little time and labor has been cut these days, by :using machines for example, every day they repeat the work of :harvesting the flowers. :The flower-patties get moldy easily, so precise timing when :harvesting the flowers is necessary, for they never wait. :If you turn around after you've finally finished picking the :flowers, you'll see that other new flowers have emerged in :the meantime. :The rainy season comes without mercy, and sometimes work can :continue until midnight. :Day after day passed in the blink of an eye and as I :comfortably became tired, I wondered about the women :flower harvesters and their conditions. :If I had a chance to help with such things during my :childhood, I surely would have been able to write more lively :compositions than my book reports. :(1982: the main farmhouse) :NAOKO: :Hey, mom, lemme have 5000 yen . :KIYOKO :5000 yen? We don't have that kind of extra money. :NAOKO: :You said you'd buy me a new pair of sports shoes, didn'tcha? :KIYOKO :Are sport shoes so expensive? :NAOKO: :Yep. :KIYOKO :I don't buy that. :NAOKO: :`Cause they're PUMAs {*}. :{* Popular Adidas sports shoes of the early eighties. This :marks the time of when the fad of trendy sports shoes was :just starting.} :KIYOKO :PUMA? :NAOKO: :Yep, Pu...ma! :KIYOKO :I don't know anything about Pumas, but I DO know you can find :ones for cheaper. :Like how about the same kind you have now? :NAOKO: :No one's wearing boring shoes like them anymore. :Everybody's getting Puma sports shoes. :KIYOKO :Who's everybody? :NAOKO: :Kako-chan an' Megu-chan, an' also Ya-chan n' Non-chan. :an' Meg, an' also Ya n' Non. :KIYOKO :See, only four people, right? :NAOKO: (OFF) :I know others--everyone's buying them. :KIYOKO :Nope, you can't ask for that anyway when you're not helping :with the chores enough. :YAEKO (OFF) :Hey, you got another dress for "Barbie-san" {*} "Barbie", :didn't you--though you promised to ask for presents only on :your birthday and Christmas--and you must have at least known :it wasn't your birthday, right?! :{* "Barbie-chan" was originally sold in Japan by the big toy :manufacturer Takara, licensed from Mattel. The dolls did not :sell well at first because of the western-styled face-- :prompting a change to a Japanese-styled face. This change :resulted in immediate popularity, along with a similar Takara :-designed doll called "Licca-chan", also Japanese-stylized :(resembling a girls' comics style), and more younger in :appearance and proportions, for possible easier :identification with girls. Both were the biggest selling :products Takara ever sold. However, later, the rights :transferred to toy manufacturer giant Bandai, and currently :"Barbie-chan" is marketed directly by Mattel. : The equivalent toy for boys at the time was, of course, :"G.I. Joe", owned by Hassenfield Bros. (now Hasbro), was and :still is marketed in Japan by Takara, and would inspire new :successful lines of toys such as "Transforming Cyborg #1" and :"Microman". "Microman" was in turn marketed in America as :"Micronauts" by the now-defunct Mego Corp., and set the :precedent in both countries for 3-inch figures including the :current "G.I. Joe" line. Takara's later "Microman" robot :toys would later, along with the company's "Diaclone" line :would wind up becoming the basis of Hasbro's "Transformers" :line that would end up replacing "Microman" in Japan as :Takara recognized the marketing package with greater :potential. The confusion of complex international cross- :marketing hasn't even spared the toy industry.} :(1966: Okajima residence) :YAEKO :I can't believe Dad's so soft on Taeko! :FATHER :Did you promise that, "Ta-bo" {*} ? :{* Period slang, a nickname--"bo" is short for "bohzu", which :means "wild boy". "Bo" was common as a boy's nickname and :later as slang for boys in general. Taeko is apparently :still young and "boyish" enough in her father's eyes to be :given a gender-bending nickname like this one. It's meant :affectionately, yet may be subtly suggesting something about :this otherwise all-female family's patriarch figure...} :NARRATOR :Unexpectedly, my fifth-grade self emerged yet again. :TAEKO: :But...you bought Yaeko 'ne-chan Yaeko a long-sleeved :kimono, didn't you? Even though it wasn't even an Adult :Celebration day. :YAEKO :That was for my tea ceremony. :NANAKO :Well, we see you get a lot of little things all the time, :while we get something big only once in a while...right? :YAEKO :Right! :MOTHER :Would you stop that...picking only the food you like?! :TAEKO: :Daddy, you like onions, don't you. :FATHER :Uh-huh. :YAEKO :Well, as for the long-sleeved kimono, eventually that dress :will be yours anyway, so don't complain. :TAEKO: :"Hand-me-downs"...oh gee. :NANAKO :Well, some girls don't even get "hand-me-downs". :YAEKO :True, true. :TAEKO: :Then give me that enamel bag of yours soon. :MOTHER :Oh, didn't you give it to her yet? :NANAKO :What a baby! The sooner you give it to Taeko, the better. :TAEKO: :I don't want it. :MOTHER/NANAKO/YAEKO :Huh? :TAEKO: :That handbag, I don't want it... :YAEKO :Oh, really? That's fine, then I won't give it to you. :MOTHER :I won't be buying a new one. :TAEKO: :Fine by me! :YAEKO :Whew, that's good. That bag was a favorite of mine, anyway. :TAEKO: :I totally hate that one! :FATHER :Hey, I'm ready {*}. Could you take care of this? :{* This is typical behavior for a father in a Japanese family :like this. Rather than eat with the family, he first winds :down with a newspaper and cup of sake, and then only when he :is ready does he expect to be served. He seems to lead a :life mostly separate from the family. These days, it is :common for them to even miss the family dinner altogether due :to being out drinking with co-workers, a mandatory ritual of :the workplace.} :YAEKO :See--and the food gets thrown away anyway. :NANAKO :Wasteful, isn't she? :TAEKO: :No, don't throw it away! :Hey, Mother...! :MOTHER :You picked these out didn't you? :If you're going to complain now, then you should have eaten :all the food on your plate. :GRANDMOTHER :All of my kids are so selfish. :(1966: later) :TAEKO: :Hey, Daddy, could you buy an enamel bag for me? :Yaeko 'ne-chan Yaeko won't give me hers. :{The music here is the "Trout" quintet by Schubert.} :FATHER :You did say you didn't want one. :TAEKO: :But... :FATHER :You said you didn't want us to get you one, so you don't need :one. :(1966: again later) :MOTHER :Hurry up and get ready. :TAEKO: :Mmm... :YAEKO :I think these shoes will do instead... :TAEKO: :Mom, why does Yaeko `ne-chan have to come, too? :Daddy, Mom, and me--you said it would just be us three, :didn't you? :YAEKO :I'm going because I'm through studying. Are you saying I :can't come too? :MOTHER :We're having Chinese food. The more of us, the merrier-- :right? :TAEKO: :But Grandma said she's not coming. :MOTHER :Your Grandmother doesn't like fatty foods, you know that. :YAEKO :If you don't want us all to come, why don't you stay with :her?! :{The broadcast being heard in the background is the popular :Amateur Singing Competition. Originally first broadcast on :the radio in 1946, it was joined in 1952 by an NHK TV :simulcast. The song that will be sung later is "Konnichiwa :Aka-chan" ("Hello, Baby"), heard earlier in instrumental form :in this film (the scene in which the boys are in the dark :about the girls purchasing underwear at the school :infirmary).} :(1966: later) :MOTHER :Hey, we're leaving, Taeko. :TAEKO: (OFF) :Mmm... :YAEKO :Hurry up, slowpoke! :TAEKO: :I don't have a handbag. :MOTHER :Yae-chan Yae, would you let her have that enamel bag? :YAEKO :Here. :TAEKO: :That hurt... :MOTHER :Well, let's go. :TAEKO: :I'm not going. :YAEKO :Oh, really...? Well, shall we go then, Mother? :MOTHER :Well, then you can stay with Grandma. :FATHER :What, "Ta-bo" isn't coming with us? :TAEKO: :I'm not going! :FATHER :Oh well, let's go then. :TAEKO: :I'm coming, too...! :FATHER :Barefoot..?! {*} :{* In Japanese culture, going outside with no shoes on is :equivalent to being just in your underwear. Taeko's father :comes from a traditional conservative pre-war generation, :which of course values its traditions strongly, and his :reaction came automatically. This situation is probably a :perfect reflection of the same event in his life as a boy. :And the manga, by the way, takes more of an edge off of this :when we see that he winds up not sleeping that night because :of regretting how he automatically reacted.) :MOTHER :Father! :Father, please stop! :YAEKO :A button came off... :(1982: Main farmhouse's tomato patch) :TAEKO: :Going out was postponed, of course. My cheek was swollen and :smarted for a long time, even though I tried cooling it with :a towel. :It was difficult falling asleep that night, thinking things :like, "why do these things always happen only to me? I must :be an adopted child. Yes, that must be why." :And so I sobbed in my futon bed. :NAOKO: :Was that the first time you were slapped by your dad? :TAEKO: :Uh-huh. The first and last time. Only once. :NAOKO: :Hmmm....in my case though, sometimes, but not TOO often, it :happens a lot. :TAEKO: :"Sometimes" might be better than once, I think. If its only :the one time, then you'll wonder why that time in particular. :NAOKO: :But I can't believe Taeko 'ne-chan Taeko was so selfish as :a kid. :TAEKO: :Oh, I was selfish. :So onion wasn't the only thing I didn't like. :NAOKO: :Oh---what's with me, I feel over-privileged now. :TAEKO: :Oh--what a fix, what a fix! :How can I ask your mother to forgive me if I made you feel :over-privileged by telling you such a story? I couldn't! :NAOKO: :I'm going to give up the Puma shoes. :TAEKO: :Way to go! Then...you might expect a handsome allowance from :me. :NAOKO: :I getcha. :{The finger-touch an obvious, popular reference to the hit :1982 box-office record breaker, E.T., just out in America at :that time--the film, while advertised, would not be :released until December 4th, yet already it was gaining a :following.} :NAOKO: :Hey....! :TOSHIO: :What's up? :NAOKO: :100 yen each! :TOSHIO: :Taeko-san Taeko-- :Tomorrow, why don't we drive to Zaoh, for a break? :TAEKO: :Zaoh? :TOSHIO: :Uh-huh. 'Cause I heard you went up to Yamadera {*} last :year. :{* Yamadera means "Mountain Temple". The place's namesake is :the temple Taeko visited, which is where master poet Basho :(referred to earlier) wrote his most famous haiku.} :Oh, I already got the family to okay it before I came. :TAEKO: :Sheesh. :(1982: Zaoh) :NARRATOR :Zaoh was fantastic. But Zaoh is Zaoh, after all, and the :site is now just another holiday resort. :{The music in the background here is by the famous New Age :composer Kitaro, from his popular soundtrack to the NHK "Silk :Road" documentary series.} :TOSHIO: :Taeko-san Taeko, I'm curious why you're not married yet. :TAEKO: :Huh...um, is it so strange to be unmarried? :TOSHIO: :Well, nah, I wasn't saying that, but... :TAEKO: :The number of women who hold jobs has increased these days, :you know that, and even most of my friends aren't married :yet. :TOSHIO: :Hmm...is that right? :TAEKO: :Uh-huh, sure it is. :TOSHIO: :Ain't it? :TAEKO: :Sure enough. :TOSHIO: :I see. :TAEKO: :Right, it's common. :TOSHIO: :Hmm... :TAEKO: :Oh, Toshio-san Toshio? :TOSHIO: :Hm? :TAEKO: :When you were in elementary school, was it easy for you to :understand dividing fractions? :TOSHIO: :Huh...? :TAEKO: :You have to switch the numerator with the denominator first, :and then multiply it together. Could you do it like you were :taught? :TOSHIO: :Hmm, I don't really remember, but I wasn't very weak in :arithmetic. :TAEKO: :Oh, I see... :TOSHIO: :Yep. :TAEKO: :That's good. You probably don't remember because you could :do them with little trouble, I suspect. :TOSHIO: :Uh-huh. But why do you ask? :TAEKO: :It seems like people who could divide fractions easily would :have little trouble with their life after that, too. :TOSHIO: :Huh? :TAEKO: :There was a modest girl named "Rie-chan" Rie. Though she :wasn't really good at arithmetic, she switched the numerator :and denominator as told and then got 100%! Since then, she :grew up doing what she was told, and had no troubles. :Now she's a mother, with two kids. :TOSHIO: :Hmmm. :TAEKO: :I wasn't very good, actually. Though I am weak-minded, I get :picky about things. :(1966: Okajima residence) :TAEKO: :Uh...um, you know...be-before this test, you know? We had :art class...and, you know...we did "blow pictures." :MOTHER :"Blow pictures?" :TAEKO: :R...right. You drop paint on drawing paper, blow like this: :"phooooo", and you make patterns that way. :MOTHER :And so? :TAEKO: :You keep blowing "phoooo", you know, "phoooo." :MOTHER :So? :TAEKO: :My head...started hurting, from going "phoooo" so many :times, and... :MOTHER :And that's what is responsible for this score? :TAEKO: :Th...that's right. :MOTHER :Uh--huh... So did you get a copy of the right answers for :the problems you missed? :TAEKO: :Huh? :MOTHER :The right answers, did you get them? :TAEKO: :Um...uh-huh. :MOTHER :Ask Yaeko 'ne-chan sister Yaeko about them, okay? :TAEKO: :Yaeko 'ne-chan Yaeko? :MOTHER :Of course. Nanako 'ne-chan Nanako is fine, too. :TAEKO: :O..oh... :I'll try Nanako 'ne-chan Nanako, then. :(1966: later) :TAEKO: :Nanako 'ne-chan Nanako isn't back yet, so is it okay if I :wait until after dinner? :I guess I'll ask Yaeko 'ne-chan Yaeko, then... :YAEKO :....Mommm! :Mom! Mom! What the heck is THIS? :Ho...how could this happen?! :MOTHER :Please explain it to her. It seems she can't make head or :tail of it. :YAEKO :B-b-b-but, but this many...how could she..?! :MOTHER :So work with her and find out. :YAEKO :Does Taeko have something wrong with her head? :MOTHER :I'm asking you to explain it to her, okay? :YAEKO :But it's impossible, if you do the problem normally, to get :this kind of score! :MOTHER :So then Taeko isn't normal, is she?! :Taeko....why don't you go over it with Yae-chan Yae? :You had a headache from "blow pictures", right...right, :Taeko? :YAEKO :SIT. :Recite the drills from the beginning. :TAEKO: :Recite the drills...? I'm in the fifth grade now, I know :them. :YAEKO :If you know the drills, then why did you make those mistakes? :TAEKO: :Because it's dividing fractions, you know that. :YAEKO :All you need to do is switch the numerator with the :denominator, and multiply the fractions. Didn't they teach :you this in school? :TAEKO: :Um..uh-huh. :YAEKO :So, then why all the mistakes?! :MOTHER :Yae-chan, could you try it step-by-step? :TAEKO: :...how does "dividing a fraction BY a fraction" work, anyway? :YAEKO :Huh? :TAEKO: :Okay, dividing two-thirds of an apple by one fourth--that :could mean you divide two thirds of an apple among four :people. {*} :How many parts of the apple does a person get, right? :{* Yes, there is a fatal flaw in this analogy of dividing :fractions: you are dividing the two thirds not among 4 :people, but among ONE FOURTH of a person! If this were :explained properly to Taeko, she might have done well after :all--in fact she seems to have quite a clear head for logical :problems and applications, and cares beyond the rote of :drills. (Thanks to mathematician Bill Wilkinson for :explaining how to adjust the same analogy to properly fit the :problem!--ed.)} :YAEKO :Huh....? Um...uh-huh. :TAEKO: :So then, one, two, three, four, five, and six--so one sixth :of an apple for a single person. :YAEKO :...wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. That's MULTIPLYING fractions. :TAEKO: :Huh...? How come? Does a number become smaller when you :multiply it?! :YAEKO :Two thirds of an apple divided by a quarter means, uh...it's :totally off-track! :You can't understand this because you're fussing about :apples. You'll have no trouble if you'd just simply memorize :that you leave multiplication as is and switch in division. :(1966: later) :TAEKO: :Isn't her sister a member of Takarazuka? :GRANDMOTHER :"S.K.D." {*} :{* They are listening to "Sayonara wa Dance no Ato ni" ("Say :Farewell After the Dance"), a hit song from the prior year, :which was sung by Chieko Baisho from the Takarazuka theater. :Her sister was a member of S.K.D., another group of :performers. The main lyric heard in this song is "Please :don't say anything," because this song was chosen to echo :Taeko's feelings.} :YAEKO :Taeko got a "D" {a "2"} in math class. :NANAKO :Huh, a "D"?! :YAEKO :Right, it's finally gone down to a "D". :NANAKO :Hmmmm. :MOTHER :If her score were 50 or 60%, I could simply reprimand her. :YAEKO :That's true... :NANAKO :Do you think Taeko ought to have an I.Q. test? :MOTHER :But when she entered school, she was diagnosed as "normal." :YAEKO :Maybe she's turned stupid. :NANAKO :When Taeko was a baby, she fell downstairs from the second :floor, remember? :YAEKO :Right, right, in her walker. I thought she'd killed herself :that time. :MOTHER :She only got a bump, though. :NANAKO :Well, that's what is affecting her now. :YAEKO :Right, that's got to be it. :MOTHER (OFF) :Not at all--she's just incredibly weak at arithmetic. :NANAKO (OFF) :She must be talking in class. :YAEKO (OFF) :Dividing fractions is quite easy if you pay attention, of :course. Even a complete idiot can do it. :NANAKO :I'm worried about her future. She is going to be in the :sixth grade, after all. :TAEKO: (simultaneously) YAEKO :But...I'm right, aren't I? Does she even study at all at : home? : MOTHER : You're right, aren't you? :TAEKO: (simultaneously) YAEKO :How can I imagine dividing Certainly--you should lecture :two-thirds of an apple by her more strongly, Mom. :a quarter? I can't do it :at all. :TAEKO: (simultaneously) NANAKO :But it's got to be right-- Arithmetic in elementary school :dividing two thirds of an is very basic. She's :apple means you... been goofing off, so... :{It could be pointed out here that in the original manga, :Taeko went on to get a 5% score on her next test, to her :worst fears. However, on the way home, she spitefully tears :it up and throws it in the gutter, bidding it a happy :farewell...in the manga, Taeko would have difficulty with :other kinds of math problems as well in other stories.} :(1982: Zaoh--Okama) :{Okama is the crater lake that is a main attraction in the :Zaoh mountain range. 1570 meters above sea level, it is also :known as the "5-color pool" as the small lake's color changes :as the sun moves across the sky.} :TAEKO: :Even now, it's still tough when I think about it, you know. :Dividing fractions. :TOSHIO: :Hmm... :It's true. We farmers should've been more picky, too. :We've always gone with the larger flow, and just followed the :big cities--we've lost our identities. :So we need to re-think what we consider "real wealth" and :become more fussy about traditional farming again! :TAEKO: :...you caught me off-guard. I guess you meant "organic :farming" by that, right? :TOSHIO: :Uh-huh. :Actually, it's what my "Sempai" colleague told me, :but it's the way I feel, too. :I think it's great you're keeping your memory of being picky :about dividing fractions as an important one. :TAEKO: :Oh, no, I didn't mean it to sound like that. Besides, now :some people tell me I have an enviable job, but my job is not :the kind I could be absorbed in anyway, so... :I can't help but admire you being so absorbed in your own :job, Toshio-san Toshio--farming, that is. :TOSHIO: :So, you mean it's ironic, right? :TAEKO: :Huh? No way! No, such people are difficult to find now, in :fact. :TOSHIO: :Now farming's totally declining, as you know. I wish that I :could be completely absorbed by my job, and not worry about :outside problems. But this isn't the case, and I :can't help but think about all these things. :I suppose we farmers can't survive without encouragement and :support that comes from working with our fellows, for :instance... :(1982: Zaoh--ski lift) :TOSHIO: :Taeko-san Taeko, you go skiing, don't you? :TAEKO: :Oh, a couple of times, with my co-workers. :TOSHIO: :Well, then why don't we go skiing this Winter, then. I'll :help you learn. :TAEKO: :Are you a good skier, Toshio-san Toshio? :TOSHIO: :Nah, not so great, but I work here each Winter as an :instructor, so... :TAEKO: :Oh, an instructor? Then you must be a good skier. :TOSHIO: :Actually a whole bunch of my friends are such instructors! :(1982: Mountain road from Zaoh) :TAEKO: :Oh, now this is the country I was expecting. It's the real :thing. Not like Zaoh. :TOSHIO: :Well.... :The "country"..... :TAEKO: :Oh, I'm sorry. I keep saying the "country". :TOSHIO: :No, it's an important point, y'know. :TAEKO: :Oh? :TOSHIO: :Uh-huh. You see, when people from big cities see the :forests, the woods, or the flowing water, they quickly accept :such things as natural. However, except in the highest :reaches of the mountains, all the sites that are called the :"country" are actually made by people. :TAEKO: :People? :TOSHIO: :Yes, farmers. :TAEKO: :That forest too? :TOSHIO: :Yep. :TAEKO: :That wood, too? :TOSHIO: :Yep. :TAEKO: :This stream, too? :TOSHIO: :Yep. :It's not only rice paddies or fields. Every place has its :own history--say, from someone's great grandfather who had :been planting or cultivating, or had been gathering kindling :or mushrooms, since long ago. :TAEKO: :Oh, I see. :TOSHIO: :While people've been either fighting with nature or :gaining its benefits, some good had come from what they did; :the way the countryside has come to look now, all of this. :TAEKO: :Hasn't the appearance itself come without people's help? :TOSHIO: :Well... :Farmers couldn't live without getting continuous benefits :from nature, could they? :And that's why the farmers, for a long, long time, have also :been doing many things for nature themselves. :One might say this is the interdependence between nature and :people. :Maybe this is what "the country" is. :TAEKO: :I see. I think that's why it's nostalgic. I've been :thinking for a long time about why I feel like this is my :home, even though I wasn't born or raised here. :Oh, so that was it. :(1982: Toshio's farm) :TAEKO: :Ah, my back is starting to hurt. :Organic farming...it's not so cool after all! :TOSHIO: :What's cool is the concept. I told you before, helping :living things is quite difficult. :TAEKO: :But it's no different from a hundred years ago, is it? :TOSHIO: :And that's why even organically grown rice is often :processed with herbicides instead of by hand-weeding like :back then. There's just not enough labor. :TOSHIO:'S MOTHER :You sure have been working hard, Taeko-san Taeko. Why :don't we break for tea? :TAEKO: :Whew, you're a life-saver! :I was just thinking of taking a break. :NARRATOR :Toshio-san Toshio helped me experience many things step by :step. :I was taking pride in pretending I had already known :everything about the country. :(1982: A sunset...) :TAEKO: :How nice! :"Oh, the crows are returning home. First one..." :Oh my, at last I could say that in a real village! :It was my dialogue in a school play when I was in the fifth :grade. :My role was "village child #1" in "Kobutori Jii-san" {*}. :{* Kobutori Jii-san is a folk story common worldwide in many :variations. This one is about two old men who had lumps on :the sides of their faces. One man, a kind person, :accidentally encountered "Oni" (man-eating devil-ogres) :engaged in a dance. To save his life, he dances with them, :impressing them with his grace. In return, they remove the :lump and let him leave. The other man, a bad one, heard :this story, and tried the same, but his disruption and :vulgar dancing angered the oni, who added the first man's :lump to the second one's face, doubling his problem. :Versions of this story abound elsewhere, including an Irish :Celtic tale of two hunchbacks and singing fairy folk.} :TOSHIO: :Oh, is that it? I get it--I only got parts as an extra, too. :TAEKO: :How about you, Naoko-chan Naoko? :NAOKO: :Umm, well, I usually only got important parts because there :were only a few people involved. :TOSHIO: :I guess that when our generation was born, the amount of :immigration to the city for jobs had boomed. In other words, :the population drifted from the country to the city and the :amount of younger people has dwindled here. :TAEKO: :I see. So then you must have had many interesting :experiences, haven't you? :NAOKO: :Not really. I prefer sports meets. I may not look it, but :I'm a fast runner. :TAEKO: :That's good. In my case, I was always in the middle, like I :was "village child #1" in the school play, for example. :But the dialogue I said was something I will never forget, :not for the rest of my life. Because of that dialogue, I :could have become a star. :NAOKO: :A star? :TAEKO: :Yes. :TOSHIO: :A star, how...? :NAOKO: :Because of "village child #1"? :TAEKO: :Yes. :TOSHIO: :Not because of "Ojii-san" or "Oni"? :TAEKO: :Right. Due to my great enthusiasm. :TOSHIO: :Were you so pretty? :TAEKO: :No, not like that. :I practiced excessively in front of a mirror in my house. :TOSHIO: :But you were "village child #1," so... :TAEKO: :Right. The dialogue was so short I couldn't be satisfied with :it even after practicing it a hundred times. You can imagine :that because the whole thing was "Oh, the crows are :returning home. First one!"... :NAOKO: :I know! You added extra lines! :TAEKO: :You got it! :(1966: school) :TAEKO: :Oh, look at that! The crows are returning home. :First one... :BOY 1 :...second one... :TSUNEKO: :...third one... :BOY 2 :...fourth one. :TAEKO: :Farewell, crows! Take care! :ALL FOUR (unison) :Yay...! :TOSHIO: (OFF/VO) :Then your teacher praised you? :TAEKO: (OFF/VO) :The exact opposite. :TEACHER :Okay, you all did very well. :But let's stick with what's in the script. :(1966: a little later) :TEACHER/ONI ACTORS (instrument sounds) :Torerere, torere, tohyarara, tohyra... :...suto-suto-sutoton, stuton-ton. :NAOKO: (OFF/VO) :In spite of you working hard to come up with those extra :lines... :TAEKO: (OFF/VO) :In fact, they weren't so good, so I gave them up easily... :but that didn't mean I had lost my will. I realized that I :could still express myself with actions in the parts with no :dialogue. :(1966: Play night) :ANNOUNCEMENT :Next is "KOBUTORI JII-SAN" by the fifth grade class. :ALL 4 (unison) :Yaaaay! :CROWS (OFF) :Caw caw caw! :TAEKO: :Oh, the crows are returning home. :TAEKO: :First one... :BOY 1 :...second one... :TSUNEKO: :...third one... :BOY 2 :...fourth one. :ALL 4 (unison) :Yaaaaay! :(1982: the sunset) :TAEKO: :That was it. But it was worth making the effort, and my :acting actually got a good reputation anyway, believe it or :not. :My mom was asked if I belonged to a child actor's troupe, :teachers from other classes praised me, things like that. :However, something even far more fantastic happened... :(1966: Okajima Residence) :STUDENT :Excuse me..? :MOTHER (OFF) :Yes? :DON GABACHO (TV--OFF) :...oodles of dynamite exploded with a "KER-POW!!" right in :front of me, don'tcha know? :TAEKO: (with cast on TV, unison) :Don'tcha know? :{This program is Hyokkori Hyohtan Island (Popped-up Gourd :Island), a televised puppet show very similar to a cross :between "Beany and Cecil", "Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood", and :the "Muppets" set on a floating island. It ran an impressive :1224 episodes over a span of five years, between 1964 and :1969. It attracted many viewers with its modern-day :storyline and songs, as well as with its fresh wide cast :of characters. The character "Don Gabacho" seen here is the :self-proclaimed President (only recognized by himself as :such) of the island. He also loves chickens, and it is part :of his daily schedule to behave like one. He also makes the :sound of the endangered Toki crane. He is played by Arihiro :Fujimura.} :{Taeko is eating "Meiji Marble Chocolate", at that time :including a free "Tetsuwan Atom" ("Astro Boy") decal inside :its package.} :MOTHER (OFF) :What? You mean Taeko? :DON GABACHO (TV--OFF) :The three of us--myself, President Kid, and Granny Dokonjo-- :were digging for potatoes, and what a surprise, the pototoes :were actually dynamite! :MOTHER (OFF) :Well...but.... :STUDENT (OFF) :In fact, a child actress is necessary for the play we will :perform at our school festival...and....as a student- :community collaborative production {*}....I mean... :Whatever the cost, we want Okajima Taeko-chan Taeko :Okajima to perform... :{* If this sounds a little contrived, that's because it :probably is--he sounds like he's trying to make his student :production sound a lot more important than it really is, :and is probably desperate.} :MOTHER :I...see... :TAEKO: :A child actress! :STUDENT (OFF) :In her case, we will practice early like in the daytime on :Saturdays, so... :MOTHER (OFF) :Well....But..... :STUDENT :Ah...I will escort her back home every time, so.. :DON GABACHO (OFF, TV), SINGING :{Koke Kokko no Uta ("Cock-a-doodle Song")} :"Ko-ke kokko ko-ke kokko ko-ke-ko-ke-ko-ke-ko-ke ko-ke :kokko" , I crow in a loud voice, :Announcing the hour, my day begins. :"Au-an-an-aah," how invigorating---my day will be! :Then I--"splish, splash"--wash my face, :Then--"rub-a-dub"--with a dry towel, :Then I "gobble, gobble" breakfast down-- :This is the beginning of my day...! :"Au-an-an-aah," how invigorating---my day will be! :Ko-ke-ko-ke-ko-ke-ko-ke, ko-ke kokko! :(Repeats this line several times, ending with the line Taeko :joins in on.) :TAEKO: :Am I going to perform in a grown-up's play!? :Not with amateurs like those guys. :I can perform with grown-ups! :...A star! :{Taeko appears on covers of Margaret weekly girl's comic :magazine (published by Shueisha as the self-proclaimed "Queen :of Girls' Weekly Magazines") with celebrities Yuzo Kayama and :Yoko Naito (taken from a REAL Margaret cover), Margaret Mode, :another magazine with the Hyokkori Hyohtan Island puppet :cast, inside a celebrity magazine, and a cover feature with :"A look at Taeko-chan's room".} :TAEKO: & GABACHO (singing in unison) :Ko-ke-ko-ke-ko-ke-ko-ke, ko-ke-kekko! :{Music changes to ending credit music.} :TAEKO: :M..Mom...! :So, so...? :MOTHER :That gentleman from NICHIDAI said he :wants you to perform for their play. :You really shined at the school play. :TAEKO: :And...and...? :MOTHER :He was quite insistent, and begged for my approval {*}. :{* More literally: "I was bowed to by his head many times and :he begged for my approval." In other words, she was :flattered.} :(1966: at dinner) :NANAKO :Wow, it's great, isn't it? :YAEKO :I guess everyone has at least one strong point. :MOTHER :Wait, she's also good at compositions. :GRANDMOTHER :Taeko may have a talent in those areas rather than for :arithmetic. :TAEKO: :That's right, that's right! :NANAKO :In my case, I played an old man for "Shitakirisuzume" :{another similar folk story}, but nobody paid that kind of :attention. :TAEKO: :I see, I see... :YAEKO :So will you...? :NANAKO :Maybe it could be a chance for you to become a professional :child actress. :TAEKO: :Ah... :YAEKO :Why don't you join Takarazuka? :NANAKO :Sure, you might be able to join it if you begin preparing :now. :FATHER :Acting is no good. :FAMILY :Huh...? :FATHER :Show business is no good. :NANAKO :Come on, now, "show business" is going a bit too far... :MOTHER :That's true, isn't it? :FATHER :No way. Now, serve. :MOTHER :...Right. :(1966: after dinner) :NANAKO :Father is real stubborn, isn't he? :TAEKO: :Hey, why did you have to say "professional child actress"? :NANAKO :Can I take my bath first? :MOTHER :Sure, that's okay. :TAEKO: :You said "Takarazuka" :and "show business", so Father... :Hey, why did you have to say all that? Nanako `ne-chan :Nanako, jeez! :NANAKO :Lay off, would you? :(1966: the next day) :TORAHIGE (TV--singing) :{"Poor Boy", re-enacted by Ichiro Nagai*} :"Po--or boy," "po--or boy," :Poor me, Torahige. :"Po--or boy," "po--or boy," :So far away from me home. :Oh I..., :When sailin' the seven seas, :Wuz workin' real hard too. :And now... :Hyokkori Hyohtan Island's where I've come. :Hey, look--must I work on 'n on? :Or if not, will I be shippin' off somewhere again? Hmm? :Waaaah--ahhh-aaah--ah. :"Po--or boy," "po--or boy," :Poor me, Torahige. :"Po--or boy," "po--or boy," :Far away from me home. :"Pooo--oooor boyyyyyy--y!" :{* "Torahige" is another Hyokkori Hyohtan Island character, :originally voiced by the late Kazuo Kumakura, and re-enacted :by the talented Ichiro Nagai (a voice in many Hayao Miyazaki :works, particularly Captain Dyce in Future Boy Conan, and :best known by anime fans as being the voice of Cherry in :Urusei Yatsura). Formerly a pirate, he makes the minor :change to being Treasurer/Secretary of Finance of the island :as delegated by Don Gabacho. In the meantime he also runs a :department store. Both characters often collaborate on :elaborate schemes and scams to make money which always :inevitably backfire on them.} :STUDENT (OFF) :We're not asking for much of your time, so... :MOTHER :Um...well, but... :STUDENT :Please grant this small favor. :MOTHER :...she's embarrassed, herself...she's shy, so... :I'm terribly sorry you've had to come here so often. :(1966: shopping) :TAEKO: :Um...Aoki-san Aoki from room 1 was chosen instead of me, :after all. :MOTHER :Mm-hmm. :TAEKO: :Aoki-san Aoki is bragging to everyone about it, now. :MOTHER :Uh-huh. :TAEKO: :Like today, her mother came to our school. She changed to :formal clothes, and her mom took her to Nichidai. :Her dress had frills that fluttered alllll over the place! :MOTHER :Taeko. :TAEKO: :Huh? :MOTHER :You can't tell anyone at school that the young gentleman came :to us first. :TAEKO: :What...? :MOTHER :If Aoki-san Aoki heard that, she would feel bad. :Understood? :Do you UNDERSTAND? :TAEKO: :Uh-huh... :TV (OFF) (Hyokkori Hyohtan Gourd Island Theme :Song) :Waves splash, splash, splash, splash as they are parted. :Splash, splash, splash! :Clouds zip, zip, zip, zip, as they speed past. :Zip, zip, zip! :Where is Hyohtan Island going? :Where is it headed, as it brings us along? :Where the sea meets the horizon of the earth, :TAEKO: and TV (unison, singing) :Something must be waiting. :You may have hard times, :You may have sad experiences, :But we will never be discouraged: :We don't want to cry, so let's laugh-- :Go ahead! :Hyokkori Hyohtan Island, Hyokkori Hyohtan Island, :Hyokkori Hyohtan Island... :(1982: the sunset) :NAOKO: :I feel sorry for you, Taeko-chan Taeko. :TAEKO: :I joined the drama club as soon as I entered high school. I :guess I couldn't be expected to forget that experience. :NAOKO: :And? :TAEKO: :It was really fun. I actually got to perform as an actress, :too. :TAEKO: :But I wasn't fit for acting. So, it's not really true that I :missed the chance to become a star, unfortunately. :NAOKO: :But... :TOSHIO: :Dads--either in Tokyo or the country--used to be very :similar, I believe... When I was in high school, I wanted to :go to Tokyo at any cost, and, well... :I had sent a letter to Mitsuo-san Mitsuo for advice about :my course of action, in fact. :TAEKO: :Oh, really...? :TOSHIO: :Even after I gave up, when I saw my former classmates, who :hadn't been as good at school as me, coming back from Tokyo :and putting on airs, I was really quite humiliated. :Oh, I've changed since then. Now I have a little bit of :respect for Dad, at least. As my senior in farming. :Anyway, I can really understand Taeko-chan's Taeko's :feelings. :TAEKO: :Oh, no--I wasn't serious about that. :TOSHIO: :No--it's the same thing. I can understand. :"But, we will never be discouraged." :"We don't want to cry, so let's laugh," right? It's :interesting--I also used to watch "Hyokkori Hyohtan Island". :TAEKO: :Oh, really?! :TOSHIO: :Yeah...Machine-Gun Dandy--he was cool, wasn't he? :TAEKO: :Wow, he was my idol! :{Machine-Gun Dandy, on the police blacklist, came to Hyokkori :Hyohtan Island seeking refuge, and wound up becoming an :unlikely hero there. A chain smoker, he preferred "King :Yomogi" brand cigars, if he could afford them, and if not, :then "Saisei" ("Revive") brand cigars. He was Taeko's #1 :favorite famous guy in 1966, followed by anime characters :"Super Jetter," "Meteor Boy Pappy," and "Eightman" as #2, #3, :and #4, respectively, and Akira Mita as #5, while her :classmates were more interested in popular singers, including :the new foreign ones like the Beatles or the Monkees (who :went over quite well in Japan). Yes, Taeko might be :considered part of one of the earliest generations of :"otaku"...) :TOSHIO: :I can imagine. Oh, it reminds me that we used to have so :many encouraging songs back in those days--don't you think :so? Ummm, there was the another one in "Hyokkori Hyohtan :Island"....Oh! :TOSHIO: :"If today is not good, :There will be tomorrow." :"If tomorrow is not good, :There will be the next day." :BOTH (unison) :"If the next day is not good, :There will be the day after that." :"There will be tomorrow, :No matter how much time passes. :Don, Don Gabacho, Don Gabacho." :NAOKO: :Weird song...! :NARRATOR :Toshio-san Toshio has been keeping the memory of the song :in his mind as a positive song, even though it was really a :song about procrastination which meant, "If today is not :good, why not put it off until tomorrow?" From this, I could :get a nice picture of his way of thinking. :(1982: the farmhouse) :BANCHA :I'm afraid you're headed back tomorrow. :TAEKO: :Yes. :I really must thank you for having me for so long. Please :take care of yourself too, Obaa-chan Auntie. :BANCHA :Thank you so much. :Taeko-san Taeko, do you like it here? :TAEKO: :Yeah, a great deal. I feel completely at home, here. :BANCHA :Really...I've only lived here since I was born and the :wedding of Mitsuo to your sister was the only opportunity for :me to go to Tokyo...but do you really like it here more than :Tokyo? :TAEKO: :Sure, why not? :Tokyo is messy...only buildings and cars everywhere you can :see... :It doesn't seem like a place for people to live at anymore. :For me, being from Tokyo, this is like a whole different :world here. :BANCHA :Honestly...? You really like this place so much? :TAEKO: :Sure, because of the rich nature here... :And also the very kind people here... :BANCHA :Then, Taeko-san Taeko, would you mind if I asked you to :become...Toshio's wife? :TAEKO: :Huh? :BANCHA :Mitsuo's living in Tokyo, you love this place, so naturally :you could live here in his place. What do you think? :KIYOKO :Ban-chan Ban! :KAZUO :Mom! You shouldn't blurt things out like that... :Can't you tell Taeko-san Taeko is upset? :BANCHA :Please think about it, Taeko-san Taeko. :KAZUO :Sorry, never mind her, she's just kidding. :Right, you're just kidding, aren't you, Ban-chan Ban. :BANCHA :No, I'm very serious. And I know both of you would like what :I asked her, wouldn't y'all? :KAZUO :Listen here...it doesn't matter at all if we want her to :change or... :KIYOKO :Of course we'd like to do that. But y'know, Taeko-san :Taeko is clearly a Tokyo woman, so... :KAZUO :And that's it. :KIYOKO :But y'know, Taeko-san Taeko likes it here, an' works hard :in the fields, so it's fine with us. In fact, of course it'd :be great if she became Toshio-san's Toshio's wife. :KAZUO :What, you too--what're you saying? Don't you think this is :rude to Taeko-san Taeko? Think: Taeko-san's Taeko's got :a job already in Tokyo, and Toshio is younger than her, to :boot. :KIYOKO :Oh, but she could find a job in Yamagata, too, couldn't she? :Taeko-san Taeko, please don't get angry, just hear me out. :All young wives of farmers have other jobs on the side, these :days, so... :KAZUO :Why did you have to bring all this up? Besides, Taeko-san's :Taeko's only visited here twice to enjoy her vacation. :You're only embarrassing her by saying this kind of thing out :of the blue. :KIYOKO :So you're against us, then. :KAZUO :That's beside the point. I'm trying to say you should face :this kind of thing realistically. We haven't even asked :Toshio about his feelings, anyway, so I wonder how Ban-chan :Ban can come off and say... :BANCHA :I can tell right away just by looking at Toshio. :KIYOKO :Right. Instead of assuming its impossible from the start, :like you, why don't we ask how Taeko-san Taeko feels... :Taeko-san Taeko! :KAZUO :Leave her alone. See what I've been saying? You should know :better and build up to that kind of question more slowly. :BANCHA :I don't think I was wrong. :(1982: the road to the main farmhouse) :NARRATOR :Becoming a farmer's wife. I never imagined that before... :Yet the fact its possible for me to live in such a manner was :enough to give a strange impression. :"If you don't mind..." Just like in some movie I'd seen :before. How wonderful it would be if I could speak with such :an open heart. But I couldn't. :My vague belief that I love the country, and my playing :at work in the fields made me have a guilty conscience all at :once. I was ashamed of myself, always saying "what a nice :place" without knowing hard winters or the reality of :farming. :I wasn't prepared for anything. And everyone knew this from :the start. :I felt too awkward to stay. :ABE (OFF) :I'm not gonna shake hands with you. :TSUNEKO: (OFF) :Hey, hey, the shirt Abe-kun's wearing today-- :PIGTAILED GIRL (OFF) :What, what? :TSUNEKO: (OFF) :It's the exact same one Tanaka-kun Tanaka wore when he was :in the fourth grade. :BOB-HAIRED GIRL (OFF) :Wha....? :TSUNEKO: (OFF) :Keep it secret. :PIGTAILS (OFF) :You know what? When its Abe-kun's Abe's turn to feed the :ducks, he takes the bread crumbs home for food. :BOBBED HAIR (OFF) :Say what? :Have you seen Abe-kun's Abe's palms? Incredible! :PIGTAILS (OFF) :I'm sure glad my seat's not near him. :BOBBED HAIR (OFF) :I feel sorry for you, Taeko-chan Taeko. :TSUNEKO: (OFF) :Why don't you ask the teacher to have your seat changed? :PIGTAILS (OFF) :Right, Right. Boys ought to sit with boys... right, Taeko- :chan Taeko? :TAEKO: :I...I don't mind. It's rude to Abe-kun Abe to act like :that. :BOBBED HAIR :You really don't mind?! :PIGTAILS :Say what? Aren't you the goody-goody? :TSUNEKO: :You better keep this conversation a secret, all right? :ABE :You want to get beat up? :TAEKO: :Abe-kun! Abe! :TOSHIO: :What're you doing out here? :TAEKO: :Nothing. I needed to walk around a little. :TOSHIO: :You're all soaked. But c'mon, hop in. :It's a present, I just... Its pickled vegetables my mom :made. :TAEKO: :Um, don't go back to the farmhouse. :TOSHIO: :Huh? How come? :TAEKO: :Please. Anywhere but there. :TOSHIO: :Is something the matter? :TAEKO: :I had a friend, a boy named "Abe-kun" "Abe". :He transferred to my school. He got the seat next to me. :Abe-kun Abe once said, "I'm not gonna shake hands with :you." :Abe-kun was, you see... :I guess his family was quite poor, so he didn't even have a :P.E. uniform. He was filthy, and wiped his nose noisily on :his sleeve or picked it. :And if you tried to keep from looking shocked by him, he :threatened you by saying "You want to get beat up?" I hated :it and could hardly bear it, so I was looking forward to the :Summer vacation--we wouldn't be able to change our seats :until then. :When we danced the "Oklahoma Mixer" {yes, the American square :dance}, I hated to hold his hand, and I also hated how he :forced me to lend him my notebook when he didn't bring his :homework. :The girls gossiped about Abe-kun Abe, whispering things :like anti-contagion hexes <"engacho", like against :"cooties">. :However, at least I didn't join that group. Because I felt :it was the worst thing to hate someone by talking about them :behind their back. However... :Before the summer vacation, it was time for Abe-kun Abe to :move to another school again, and our teacher decided that :all his classmates should shake his hand, one by one, to say :good-bye. :The feeling that no one really wanted to do this spread out :immediately. :Some lines of dirt were visible on Abe-kun's Abe's palm. :He walked around shaking everyone's hand, but it was obvious :that Abe-kun Abe was being teased a lot. :He was supposed to shake hands with me at the end. But when :I reached out, Abe-kun Abe said, "I'm not gonna shake hands :with you." :"I'm not gonna shake hands with you..." :The one who was thinking the most... that Abe-kun Abe was :dirty, was me. :Abe-kun Abe must have known this, in fact. So that's why :he didn't let me shake his hand... :TOSHIO: :May I ask what happened at the farmhouse? :TAEKO: :I have been such a person since I was a child, and I still :am. :TOSHIO: :Ah-ha. :You seem strange today. It's not like the Taeko-san Taeko :that I know. :Anyway, its not my business what you've been saying at the :farmhouse. :TAEKO: :Um, :Don't misunderstand--its not related to the farmhouse at all. :I'm sorry. I remembered my time in elementary school, and :immediately was ashamed of myself. :TOSHIO: :This "Abe-kun" "Abe" guy was a fool if it's true. It could :have been that he liked you and didn't want to leave, so he :didn't shake your hand, couldn't it? :TAEKO: :Huh? No way! The one Abe-kun Abe liked was Kobayashi-san :Kobayashi, the girl class president {see the homeroom :debate part of this film}. He was always bullying me. :He'd put his hands in his pockets and say things like, :"Grown-ups are people who can spit or tear leaves off bushes :if they feel like it, tsk!" when I met him. :And then he'd saunter off. :TOSHIO: :See, I thought so--I can understand Abe-kun's Abe's :feelings. I also have made a girl whom I liked cry by teasing :her on purpose. :TAEKO: :It wasn't like that! He shook hands with all the other :classmates. I was the only one he didn't shake hands with. :TOSHIO: :Well, that's the trouble with you girls. You just don't :understand the way boys feel at all. :TAEKO: :...jeez, don't act so presumptuous. :TOSHIO: :Well, can't I say the truth? :Abe-kun Abe wasn't so strong, was he? He couldn't bully :boys around. And as a transfer student, he didn't have any :friends. :Taeko-san Taeko, you sat next to him, so it was much easier :for him to bully you. He was dependent on you, Taeko-san :Taeko, as someone he could tease. :Essentially, he must not have wanted to shake hands with :everyone, right? But with you, Taeko-san Taeko, he could :express himself honestly, like, "I'm not gonna shake hands :with you." :(1966: Street marketplace) :ABE'S FATHER :Don't act so foul! :{Taeko is carrying a 1966 February 20th issue of Margaret :magazine, featuring singer Kazuo Funaki on the cover.} :TAEKO: (OFF) :I... :(1982: Toshio's car) :TAEKO: :I felt guilty about Abe-kun Abe, and tried behaving like :him. :But it was too late, in spite of my actions. :Because I can't amend the fact I hurt him by avoiding him. :TOSHIO: :Oh, its stopped raining. :TAEKO: :Hey, you're right. :TOSHIO: :The moon's come out. :Quite often you can see tanuki or martens :if you drive around here. :TAEKO: :Wow... :TOSHIO: :Should we head back, now? :TAEKO: :Oh! This is terrible, they must be all worried about me. :TOSHIO: :Whoops. I wonder if there'll be wild rumors flying around :now? :TAEKO: :I'm sorry. I needed your help to recover, Toshio-san :Toshio. :TOSHIO: :I wonder what really did happen at the farmhouse, anyway... :TAEKO: :Oh, uh, please, don't ask a single thing about it when we :get back, okay? :TOSHIO: :Then...shall I play some folk music? :{The music is "Stornelli" a traditional Italian folk song :performed by "Italie Eternelle." The accompanying image is :thus of a hayride in Tuscany.} :NARRATION: :For the first time, I was trying to think about what my :feelings about Toshio-san Toshio were, and Toshio-san's :Toshio's feelings about me. :Even if it was accidental, what a surprise it was that my :closed-off heart was fixed by Toshio-san Toshio. :It was a kind of mystery to me how I could rely on Toshio-san :Toshio so much. :I felt as if Toshio-san Toshio was older than me. The one :whom I wanted to shake hands with...was Toshio-san Toshio. :Merely "shake hands"...? :What could this feeling be...? Feeling Toshio-san Toshio :near me, I was absorbed by this question. :(1982: Takase train station) :{Takase Station, in the Yamagata Prefecture, is one of the :stations along Sendai's (of the Miyagi Prefecture) Takase :Line. It is 10 minutes from the Yamagata station Taeko :arrived at. } :BANCHA :Have you forgotten anything? :TAEKO: :No, it's all right. :TOSHIO: :Okay, I'll be waiting for you this Winter. :TAEKO: :Sure, I'll study a bit more on farming until then. :TOSHIO: :Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be skiing? In any case, you :can't learn more about skiing without doing it. :BANCHA :Consider what I said, okay, Taeko-san Taeko? :TOSHIO: :Huh? What, Ban-chan Ban? :NAOKO: :What's this? :BANCHA :Oh, nothing. :It's Taeko-san's Taeko's and my secret. :TOSHIO: :Well, you seemed different yesterday, so... :TAEKO: :I'm sorry. I'll be okay next time. I won't bring my fifth- :grade self along anymore. :OLD MAN: :Wait up! :{His cassette player is playing an old popular song, "Suki ni :Natta Hito" (One Whom I Loved) which made its singer, Harumi :Miyako, quite famous long before this 1982 setting (a little :temporal confusion..?) She also will be singing the brand :new ending credit song, a translation of "The Rose", of this :film!} :TAEKO: :Take care, Naoko-chan Naoko. :NAOKO: :Goodbye...! Credits :{This song is also sung by the 1991 Harumi Miyako, and is a :Japanese-language version of "The Rose" called "Ai wa Hana, :Kimi wa Sono Tane" (Love is a Flower, You are the Seed). :"The Rose" is the title song of the movie by the same title, :performed by Bette Midler, who starred in the role of Janis :Joplin in this pseudo-biography of her life.} :Washing away tenderness, : love, it's a river. :Cutting the soul to pieces, : love, it's a knife. :An incessant thirst, : love is, they say, but : love is a flower, the flower of life; : you are the seed. :Afraid of being discouraged, : your heart never dances. :Afraid of waking up, : your dream never takes chances. :Hating to be taken away : your heart won't give. :Afraid of dying, : you cannot live. :Long night, all alone, : long road, all alone. :Love doesn't come : when you think it will; : please remember, though : it's buried under the snow in winter, : in spring, with the sun's love, : the seed blossoms into a flower. :{The station Taeko transfers at is at Yamadera (see the part :of this film before she went to Zaoh).} :(ending credits) :The End Category:Transcript Category:Only Yesterday